iPhone Hotspot, No Cellular Signal

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Level 1

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iPhone Hotspot, No Cellular Signal

Hello,

I intend to use the Personal Hotspot feature of my iPhone where cellular signal may be weak or non-existent. I will be using the Hotspot as a field WiFi to connect a couple of computers and to exchange data; no Internet is needed.

My question is if cellular signal must be present for hotspot to work or as long as cellular is switched to on position the phone can be used as a hotspot without cellular connectivity.

Thanks a lot.

Farzad

MacBook Pro, macOS Sierra (10.12.6), Mid 2012 Model A1286

Posted on Jan 9, 2018 9:46 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

KiltedTim

Level 10

224,904 points

Jan 9, 2018 9:49 AM in response to Farzad_K

That's not what it's for. The Cellular Hotspot feature requires a cellular data signal. You'd be better off to buy a cheap WiFi router or just use Ethernet crossover cables between the computers for data transfer.

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Answer 2

Jan 9, 2018 12:28 PM in response to Farzad_K

Hotspot tethering is explicitly a cellular service. Your carrier and your account with them must support it and again, it is explicitly a specific protocol to allow a smart telephone to share its cellular data connection over wifi when a wifi internet signal is not present. It does not work at all in the absence of a cellular signal.

BTW, Windows 10 makes sharing a PC's wifi pretty simple - one switch in settings if you have hardware that supports it. And several companies make battery powered portable wifi routers too. So you have several options for a LAN anywhere off the grid.

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Answer 3

stedman1

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264,430 points

Jan 9, 2018 9:48 AM in response to Farzad_K

The Hotspot feature must have a cellular signal to function.

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Answer 4

Farzad_K Author

Level 1

50 points

Jan 9, 2018 1:03 PM in response to Branta_uk

Because you will spend data resources once a computer connected to the hotspot actually goes online via the phone I think, and others are saying that I am wrong, that the phone is able to host a WiFi with or without a cellular signal. The App is designed to work when both switches are turned on (the Cellular and Hotspot). But I won't know for sure unless I try it next time I am in a location with no cellular service.

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Answer 5

Jan 9, 2018 12:12 PM in response to Farzad_K

Actually, setting up an ad-hoc LAN is pretty simply and easy. A wifi router only needs an internet connection if you want devices to use the internet. Otherwise, any router can be used to connect a bunch of local machines in an ad-hoc network.

Just buy an inexpensive wifi router, set it's LAN up and have all the devices connect to that LAN. You'll need a power source for the wifi router though.

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Answer 6

Farzad_K Author

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Jan 9, 2018 12:16 PM in response to Michael Black

The computer that I need to connect to is a PC. And as you know Windows OS is a DIY type of operating system and PC's don't have built-in WiFi hosting enabled (they have them disabled). I am using Bootcamp to host a WiFi network in the field to remote into the PC. I was looking at getting a travel WiFi router but then I thought maybe my iPhone could be used as that, and I still think it should unless there is experience or documentation that says cellular signal must be present for the hotspot to work. I have a ton of gadgets I take to astronomy outings with me and would rather not get another one that needs power supply, cables, etc. So, I was hoping I could use my iPhone, and if I cannot, I will just keep using my MBP as a WiFi router.

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Answer 7

Farzad_K Author

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Jan 9, 2018 12:05 PM in response to KiltedTim

Thanks, I don't know if you have actually tried it yourself. It looks like the ability to broadcast a WiFi is a hardware feature although I can see it not having been designed for this purpose.

Farzad

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Answer 8

Farzad_K Author

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Jan 9, 2018 12:10 PM in response to stedman1

Thanks. I will try it out when I am somewhere with no service. I wished it would work though.

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Answer 9

Farzad_K Author

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Jan 9, 2018 12:32 PM in response to Michael Black

Okay, thanks.

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Answer 10

Branta_uk

Level 7

32,892 points

Jan 9, 2018 12:46 PM in response to Farzad_K

As far as I understand it the problem you would hit is that the iPhone hotspot only routes traffic to and from the cellular (internet/WAN) connection. It doesn’t provide a path between devices on the LAN side.

If anyone knows different I am open to correction and a short idiot’s guide on how to set it up.

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